The Nativity Scene

It’s finally our most favorite time of the year! It’s finally the night we hear Christmas carols on loop and Christmas trees are bigger and brighter than ever. It’s also that time of the year when families get together and talk about their lives for the past year. Kids and adults roam around the streets in Santa Claus costume and people from all walks of life celebrate on the night of Christmas eve.

Apart from Santa Clause, another reminder of Christmas is the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We all know the story of the Nativity, and how meaningful that one Holy night was when the stars were at their brightest.

To celebrate Christmas, I made toothpick doll versions of the people of the Nativity Scene: the Holy Family, the three Kings, the atchangel Gabriel and the shepherd. But why not make Santa Claus or a nutcracker or a snowman toothpick doll? Simple. Because the Nativity scene reminds me of my childhood. I used to take part of every church celebration such as Holy Week, Christmas, and so on. I used to be a member of a Youth organization and we were often asked to dance or sing and on Christmas time, we reenact the holy night of the birth of Jesus Christ. 

I was on 4th grade when I played the role of Elizabeth, cousin of Mama Mary. It was my first time acting in front of a lot of people apart from acting in front of the class. I was so nervous that I ended up having cold fingers the whole time. But I felt honored despite having played a minor role. It made me feel as if I’m a lot closer to Jesus. So when the next Christmas came and I was on 5th grade, I was asked to play another role in our church’s Christmas play. This time, I was asked to act as Mama Mary.

This project took me about three weeks to make. I used several materials around the house and it sure made a great centerpiece decoration.

This is Archangel Gabriel, the angel who delivered the message to Mary about giving birth to Jesus Christ. I had fun while making his toothpick doll version  because I got to make a design for his garments wherein I aimed at giving him a simple yet majestic style. I used gold metallic threads to accentuate his clothes and for his halo as well. I tried making a pair of toothpick angel wings but they didn't turn out well so I just used a thin copper wire instead and wrapped it in white stockings.

This is the Holy Family in toothpick doll version. I used a twig for St. Joseph's cane and can you see that beard and mustache? Ain't it adorable? 

As for mama Mary, I know I still need to work on how to curl doll hair so Mama Mary's hair was a little fail. It was actually a fail, I know, as it came out curling in a very awkward way instead of naturally. I also made her open her arms a little wider.

And here comes baby Jesus, asleep in a manger covered in hay. I wrapped Baby Jesus in white thread to imitate how He was covered in white cloth as he lay asleep. I used a combination of skin tone thread and light orange thread for the hay then glued them on a tiny manger I made using  popsicle sticks.

This is the shepherd who went to give respect to the newborn baby Jesus. I gave him a brown bag which wasn't probably very obvious. I used a paper clip on his cane and his clothes are similar to that of St. Joseph. Too bad I didn't have miniature lambs available.

These are the three wise men who also visited baby Jesus. Often, they are also called as the three magi, or the three Kings. They are Melchior of Persia, Gaspar of India, and Balthasar of Arabia. They are the ones who gave the three gifts namely: myrrh, frankincense, and gold. Gold symbolizes kingship on earth, frankincense symbolizes deity, and myrrh symbolizes death.


I gave them colorful garments with silver metallic thread, to show their social status. I gave two of them turbans while the one in the middle was a bald man. I used the beard of an old nutcracker to give them the natural-looking beard for an elder person.